Background to Africa

Africa is a complex land, haunted by the ghosts of a past characterized by exploitation, violence and suffering. Africa has been ravaged for her beauty since the beginning of time; though popularly considered the cradle of creation, what was once regarded as the ‘Dark Continent’ remains somehow east of Eden and most Africans exist striving to find life in a battlefield of human brokenness.

The continent is home to one third of the world’s natural resources, yet is characterized by the opulent wealth of a few and the desperate poverty of the masses. Africa is a land where fear, timidity and bondage have become ingrained cultural characteristics; where servitude, submission and surrender have been legislated for centuries. It is a land that has come to depend on foreign aid and handouts for survival; where few will live to see 50, and few will die before they see war.

The developed world has been pouring aid into Africa for the last 50 years, yet today Africa is poorer than it was 50 years ago. The slave traders and colonialists who plundered the continent in the 19th Century have been succeeded, in many countries, by warlords and greedy despots. In order for Africa to make any sustainable progress it must be empowered to break free from the global view of Africa as the street-kid of the world. Afro-pessimism must be vigorously replaced with a celebration of the joy and passion of African life and heritage, legacy and love; Life fully alive. This ‘life to the full’ is available in abundance across Africa. By marrying the capital inputs and knowledge of the West with the beauty and splendour of Africa we have the opportunity to unleash the untamed faith within us and unlock the power and potential of a continent fully alive in Christ.

“The spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners;” Isaiah 61:1

A volunteer network that is able to visit rural centres Across Africa to offer assistance in teaching, sports programming, building, farming and discipleship holds latent opportunity to bring this Life in Christ; to heal the broken-hearted, feed the hungry and clothe the poor.

Zimbabwe, in the heart of Southern Africa, is the country of origin for Oi and consequently the region provides the theatre for much of this operation. Sub-Saharan Africa is the area most heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe hold the top three positions in terms of global infection rate of the disease. The region epitomizes the contrast that characterizes Africa; the opulent wealth of a few and the desperate poverty of the masses. Southern Africa is home to Africa’s richest and poorest. It contains the continent’s economic capital (Johannesburg) diamond studded hillsides and seams of gold (Botswana, South Africa) not far from some of the largest slums in Africa (Cape Flats, Alexandria) and the world’s lowest life expectancy (Zimbabwe, 34) A milieu of the planet’s most historically infamous war-torn countries (Mozambique, Angola) complete the landscape of the largest humanitarian catastrophe in history, the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The region typifies social division, beneath the shadows of apartheid and colonialism every African country writhes under the discomfort of failed integration. The division today is along economic lines. The ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. In most cases the ruling elite constitute the ‘haves’ while their oppressed subjects scratch out lives under scorched earth policies that ensure that most Southern Africans remain enslaved and imprisoned. The despotic style of leadership, the dictatorships and predatory governance that have shaped the last fifty years oppress Africans and have left the continent largely impoverished, uneducated and captive to the laws of debt and death, surviving on aid or dying of AIDS.

operation impact is not empty aid, it is Christian outreach. Oi is a movement, it is affect and influence, leadership, empowerment and love in Christ Jesus offered to some of the poorest communities in Africa. It does not seek to exploit, it does not seek selfish gain, Oi will undo the efforts of the evil one who seeks only to steal, and kill and destroy the beauty that is Africa. The cradle of creation has been desperately ravaged by him for too long. It is time for God’s healing and restoration to return to this forgotten land. operation impact will engage, inspire and impact communities across Africa in the strength of the cross of Christ! In obedience to God’s commissioning Oi offers Christians worldwide an opportunity to play their role in restoring, transforming and ransoming a ravaged continent.

Africa also contains some of the most celebrated safari areas; quintessential savannah sunsets. Lumbering herds of elephant embody the classic majesty of all creation. A lion’s roar stirs one’s heart almost as much as the rich cultural heritage of this ancient land. The beat of an African drum warmed by an Msasa log fire beneath a sky a-rush with a thrush of glittering gloriousness. Africa is the birthplace of humanity and must be allowed to escape from the battlefield of human brokenness.

It is our mandate as Christians to equip, to serve and to raise up a sustainable generation that will ensure that the future of Africa is as proud as her legacy, as beautiful as her people and as prosperous as an AIDS-free generation. The 50% of the African population who are below age fifteen must be empowered and invited, inspired and engaged. By educating and equipping volunteers we will be able to marry the timeless African tradition of helping and working together, with the capitalist requirements of existence today. The primordial tradition of working together to achieve a common end is unmistakably present in most African cultures and holds that ‘I am because we are,’ in Shona, ‘kubatana,’ ‘we’ll do it together.’ This ancient strength can be maximized through the training, raising up, development and empowerment of an entire generation. An AIDS-free generation does exist in Africa today, by impacting this generation through an extensive series of self-funding programs that allows Africans to raise Africa we will heal the heartland.  “You give little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” Kahlil Gibran – ‘The Prophet.’